


On a Thread

by ahhelga



Series: 18OI AU Week '19 [5]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: 18OI AU Week 2019: Day 5, AU Week, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, F/M, For the most part, Growing Up Together, Kid Fic, Red String of Fate, Yuuko POV, Yuuko-centric, children as bullies, like super side, playful antagonism, side viktuuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 02:59:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19123210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahhelga/pseuds/ahhelga
Summary: Yuuko lives a life that revolves around three things: ice skaters (Viktor Nikiforov!), Ice Castle Hasetsu, and being on the ice with her friends(?) Yuuri and TakeshiCertainly doesn't have to do with any soulmate. At least, that's what she tells herself.originally-supposed-to-be-a-one-shot-but-writer-got-swamped-Yuuko-Nishigori-centric-soulmates-story[18OI AU Week 2019: Day 5]





	On a Thread

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't finish my AU week day 5 one-shot in time OTL I'm so sleepy
> 
> Still, special thanks to Baph for reading over this for me, even though I wrote half of it at like 1am, tipsy, so there are probably a lot of timeline errors.

For as long as she could remember, Yuuko had been going to the Ice Castle Hasetsu.

 

From those early years, it was a bright and shiny beacon, new for the kids of Hasetsu to play, and at the time it attracted all sorts of locals. It was there that she met teenagers who were so skilled at ice skating, showing off their speed on the rink, and kind instructors, who took great care with her lessons, and little Yuuri, two years younger than her, adorable and nervous and excited about skating all the same.

 

And then there was Takeshi Nishigori. 

 

Nishigori was the son of the owners of the rink, which he bragged imperiously about the moment that Yuuko met him. And from that moment on, 7-year-old Yuuko didn’t like his haughty attitude. Or his face. Or him.

 

“Oi, you know that I’m the best skater in all of our school because I’ve been practicing since I was this high!” He boasted complete with gestures one day at their elementary school, especially once he'd realized she was the same girl who been going to the ice rink more regularly. 

 

(Yuuri was too little to even talk to them during school time. He was very shy. She was working on that. It probably didn’t help that Nishigori yelled at little Katsuki every given chance.) 

 

Instead of giving in to his bragging, she had rolled her eyes at his egotistical words. And from then on, it was clear that Nishigori didn’t like her either. After all, he made it obvious when he huffed at her reaction and threw an insult at her for “not knowing anything since you’re just a dumb girl.”

 

And so their first meeting started a multiple years’ long series of back and forth of snide comments at each other.

 

It was especially bad with small Yuuri Katsuki in the mix. He had been two years her junior, and one year Nishigori’s, so she felt like she had a strong duty to protect the young boy from the bully above him. 

 

For example, Nishigori would subject the little one to silly insults about his pudginess and height compared to the older boy. He’d grab his shirt and pinch Yuuri’s side, or force the younger one to race him, when clearly Nishigori was taller and therefore faster. It usually ended with Yuuri slipping and falling while Nishigori laughed in the back. Yuuri had tears in his eyes as he laid on the ground.

  
Yuuko, who had never had a sibling, would rush over and yell at her kouhai (she  _ was _ older than him after all!). She’d yell until Nishigori finally gave in and started skating away, quieter with his talking but she knew just as mean as before. She felt an instant kinship for the young Yuuri, because he was the smallest at the rink and was a sort of rival of Nishigori’s.   
  


But one time, Yuuko was mid-yell at Nishigori, when Yuuri simply got up, still with watery cheeks but a determined face. He just kept skating to their finish line. Yuuko only stopped when Nishigori ignored her and yelled at Yuuri, “Knew you had some of it in ya, squirt!”

Yuuko huffed. She couldn’t believe that Yuuri would just laugh at Nishigori when he was just so  _ mean _ . It wasn’t like Yuuri had to be there, unlike Nishigori, since the rink was his parents’, or Yuuko, who didn’t really have other friends and loved skating a little too much.

She knew it was a bit of a fluke that Yuuri was even there at the rink in the first place. He only ever came to the Ice Castle because it was the only place open whenever the town’s ballet teacher, Minako-sensei, closed her studio for the day. But his initial passion in ballet did not lessen his interest in ice skating. If anything, his ballet lessons made him more dedicated to skating.

She wondered if that was one of the reasons why Nishigori seemed to have it out for Yuuri. Because this now 6-year-old boy, whose interest was in  _ dance _ first and foremost, seemed to dominate on the ice, even though he was younger and had less years of practice.

His inherent skill was clear because there was a certain rhythm to his movements that Yuuko just couldn’t see in any of other skaters, save for some of the adults or the really, really good teenagers. And Yuuri was just a  _ kid _ .

Nishigori knew it too. One day, after a year of being the three youngest consistent skaters at the Hasetsu Ice Castle, she found Nishigori on the sidelines of the rink, partially obscured by shadow. 

If the reflection of his skates hadn’t caught her eye, she wouldn’t have even noticed him standing in the dark. But when she did, she was struck. He was holding his skates in a tight grip and had a pensive look on his face as he stared out to the ice. 

She followed his line of sight. Gliding alongside one of the instructors, Yuuri was so small and somewhat awkward, but he managed to skate gracefully. It reminded her how big and awkward Nishigori was, and how skilled  _ he _ was. He was good, but it was because he had always been ice skating since he could even walk. 

Yuuri was adorable and all the instructors loved his sweet demeanor, so they praised him and nurtured his growing skill. With Nishigori, all the adults at the rink felt comfortable enough with him (they were all family friends or something) that they did not hold back on criticisms or such. Plus, Nishigori just didn’t have the same passionate energy or talent that Yuuri had.

For the first time since she met Nishigori, she felt pity.

Though, Yuuko still couldn’t understand the boy, which was why she ended up standing next to Nishigori.

“I don’t know how he does it,” Nishigori said, without turning his head or sharing any greeting with her. “He’s really good.”

“Yeah…” Yuuko started slowly. “But so are you.”

“Sure. But that’s because I like skating. Katsuki…”

“Yuuri-chan likes to skate!”

“Yeah, I know he does. But it’s more like, he like…  _ loves _ it.”

“Mm.” Yuuko didn’t know what to say. She felt like something big was happening there, but she was a child who couldn’t put that feeling or those thoughts to words.

She had a sudden thought that Nishigori, for all his childishness, was rather mature sometimes. 

She squashed the thought because she remembered he was also a big dummy.

“Anyway. You can stand here and watch him skate past you,” Yuuko said finally. They watched as Yuuri was doing spins while the instructor clapped. “Or you could get on the ice. It’s your choice, Nishigori.”

At that, she walked away from him without a second glance, in order to greet and compliment Yuuri on the ice. She and Yuuri skated around each other for a bit with the instructor, laughing and doing spins. In the middle of one of their pair spins, Nishigori came up behind them and harrumphed loudly by way of greeting.

“You guys can call me Takeshi, you know.”

Before she could register what was happening to her partner, Yuuri’s face reddened and, in shock, he slipped back on his butt on the ice. Nishigori started laughing instantly, as the instructor gently chuckled and helped Yuuri getting up. Yuuko watched the scene in almost as much a shock as Yuuri, but she certainly didn’t fall over it.

“Ta-ke-shi…” she whispered slowly, seriously. Before repeating, “Takeshi.  _ Takeshi-kun! _ You stop laughing at Yuuri-chan right now!”

It only made Takeshi laugh harder, but somehow, she wasn’t as annoyed as she would have been any other time when he laughed at Yuuri. 

In some strange way, they became a trio after that. 

However, even by the time Yuuko turned 10-years-old, Yuuko would not go so far as to call them friends. Sure, she was friends with Yuuri, but he was a lot younger at 8-years-old, so they never really talked outside of the rink. And at school, Takeshi and she would never interact. But on the ice, all three were almost equals.  
  


They were still the same as ever, however. Takeshi never quite let go of the desire to challenge Yuuri to races (both on and off the ice), which boggled Yuuko’s mind. Why on earth would Yuuri catch Takeshi’s bait every time, and why did he seem like he  _ enjoyed _ it when Takeshi was being a jerk like that? 

 

Yuuko would yell at them for being dumb boys, and Yuuri would make it up by practicing a move with her so that they could show off a pair routine. Every time they would perform these routines for the adults, Takeshi would hide, but Yuuko figured that was better than him making fun of them for being so sincere with their skating. She was slowly understanding the other boys. 

 

Since the three spent so many of their days at the rink, they all knew what made the other two tick (for Nishigori, it was a carefully phrased insult about his ability; for Yuuri, it was being disturbed when he was just  _ skating _ ), or when the other two were happy (manga and katsudon, respectively), or proud (a good skate routine for all three of them).

 

Then came Viktor Nikiforov. 

 

All of a sudden, 11-year-old Yuuko’s world had transformed into  _ Viktor Nikiforov’s  _ world. The Russian skater was taking the skating world by storm. Throughout the year, she’d followed closely during his Juniors career (as someone who maybe-sorta-kinda aspired to do that someday, but felt like she had a long way to go). And she just knew he was going to go far in his whole skating career. She'd obsess with every Juniors competition, until he'd finally debuted in Seniors just as she turned another year older. 

 

He’d just had another spectacular competition in his first year, and everyone was blown away by his season so far, including Yuuko.

 

So naturally, she pulled in everyone who would listen to her growing obsession. Takeshi would have none of it, but Yuuri’s eyes lit up the same way hers did as they’d watch a video after video of Viktor’s amazing talent. It was the case especially after they’d watched a video Viktor landing a clean triple combination in his latest performance. 

 

“Wow…” Yuuri uttered low next to her one afternoon in the locker room.

 

“Wow is right! He’s so amazing!” Yuuko gushed, sighing happily at the phone screen.

 

“ _ Tch _ .”

 

Yuuko turned around to burn a glare at Takeshi.

 

Why did he always have to be such a jerk?! Couldn’t he see that they were just enjoying watching videos of the greatest skater in the world? At the thought, she stuck her tongue out at the boy.

“Just ignore him, Yuuri, he’s just a big meanie.”

But Yuuri wasn’t even paying attention to Takeshi or Yuuko. His eyes were glued to the screen as Viktor spun into a layback, graceful and feminine. Yuuko watched as his eyes watered with some sort of emotion. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“Is the fatso okay?”

“Shut up, Takeshi.”

Still, Yuuri did not pay them any mind. He was instead moved by something heavy to the point that his tears threatened to spill over. Somehow she felt, even though she was the one who introduced Yuuri to Viktor Nikiforov, that she had been surpassed in some way. 

Overall, she was happy to share her love of Viktor, and the two bonded over it regularly. Increasingly, it became an everyday affair. While she would go on and on with some new news about the Russian skater, Yuuri would listen enraptured. And no matter what, even if she started talking about the beautiful flow of Viktor’s hair or his entrancing routines or his adorable dog, Takeshi would still hang around behind them.

Often she wondered why Takeshi stayed. He clearly was annoyed every time Yuuri and she talked about Viktor. Still, even if the conversation turned from “oh, we should replicate this move of his” to “his costume was so  _ gorgeous _ with all the bright sequins,” Takeshi still sat around them, if only to huff quietly to himself about their chatter. And over time, he seemed to mellow out about it. While they’d talk, he’d simply sit there, reading one of his action manga and even occasionally throwing in a positive comment about a jump of Viktor’s.

In fact, as the years begun to pass, and the three of them grew older, Takeshi did become more… tolerable.

At times, she would even say she was fond of the other boy.

It wasn’t something that she realized quickly. Yet, there were moments she found Takeshi leading Yuuri in a move, and he would grab the younger boy’s hands to guide him in a spin. She'd watch with some unnamed, warm emotion in her chest at the two of them skating and laughing together. And sometimes, Takeshi would clean up after the skaters--which she cynically thought at first was because the rink was his parents’ and they made him, but rather it was because he didn’t want to burden the employees of the rink any further. 

And then there was the matter of his skillset, or rather his attitude about it. When they were younger, his skill was his biggest pain point. Somehow, over the years, Yuuko saw Takeshi shift from someone who obsessed about being the best to valuing the act of skating itself.

He loved to train, she knew. He also loved to help others. She begun to know that later on, too.

Yuuko probably felt most fond of him when would arrive right after middle school, and somehow, someway, Takeshi was already there before her. Not only that, he’d already be with some younger children, almost as young as they had been when they’d started off.

Her heart would pound when she watched as he taught the young children about his passion for skating and still make time to support Yuuri as their younger friend skated off in his own world.

Still, there were moments that Takeshi just pissed her off. 

He was, after all, still a jerk to both her and Yuuri whenever he’d throw his little side comments. Plus he was  _ loud _ , which was annoying, but she supposed she was loud too. She couldn’t help it, especially because she was that passionate about her favorite things, which happened to be skating, her friends, and Viktor Nikiforov. It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t resist gushing about it; she was a teenage girl after all.

“Viktor Nikiforov will be my soulmate!” she excitedly exclaimed in the locker room after one of Viktor’s gold medal wins, this time at Skate America. “He’ll also be your soulmate too, Yuuri-chan. And he definitely would  _ not _ be Nishigori’s.”

Takeshi stuck a tongue out at her as he pulled off his shoes. “As if I want someone like him for my soulmate! He looks like he cries a lot! I’d have someone tough, not wussy. I'll have someone who can fight me back!”

“Nuh uh, Viktor does not cry a lot!” Yuuko yelled.

“Then why does he always have that sad face, huh?!”

“It’s called  _ performance _ \- if you were any good at it, maybe you’d know what a real program components score looked like!”

At that, Takeshi’s face twisted into something unreadable. But before she could dissect it, he turned around and stomped out of the room, skates in hand. There was a quiet moment as she looked at the doorway where Takeshi just exited. 

“Um… I think you were being a bit mean, Yuuko senpai.”

“Eh?!” Yuuko whipped her head back at Yuuri, who had been silent up until that point. “ _ I  _ was being mean? He was insulting  _ Viktor _ !”

“Well, err, I mean, maybe, but… he’s not incorrect. About Viktor,” Yuuri mumbled. “He  _ does _ look sad in his performances lately.”

“Yuuri, you don’t need to worry about what that buffoon Takeshi thinks. Just worry about Viktor and yourself, and how we’re all soulmates of his.”  
  


Yuuri blushed, taken away by the subject change of Viktor Nikiforov. If there was anything to get his mind off of anything else, it was mentioning Viktor. But still, while Yuuri was successfully distracted, Yuuko couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt about Takeshi.

 

Over the days following, she didn’t know what exactly had been the problem. As the three of them emerged as young adults, the three were starting to be as closer than ever, but in that week, it seemed as though that development came to a complete halt and was now starting to revert back into their old childhood dynamic, where Takeshi was awful to the two of them. She wanted to apologize, but he’d give her a glare that shut her up immediately. He ignored them when they tried to make conversation or threw a mean comment that left her fuming. Yuuri would put his hand on her arm, and she'd try to calm down for his sake at least. It continued for days. 

 

She wasn’t sure what the triggering moment was, but when he seemed to cool down a week later -- and they were talking normal, friendly again -- she had forgotten the whole incident. 

 

It was also right around the time that Yuuri had found out he had qualified for some significant junior competitions in Japan, and their dynamic shifted even more. 

**Author's Note:**

> The other half is mostly written up, but I gotta get the ending parts done. Hopefully I can get it up within a week! Shouldn't be later than June 14th, though.


End file.
